Chapter 21: Multiplication Madness

"Nee-naw! Nee-naw!" A high-pitched, piercing sound cuts through the morning atmosphere in Seattle.

Police cars and fire trucks have gathered on the mostly abandoned warehouse dock to answer a report from nearby residents about a building fire last night…a fire that led to a strange, deafening explosion.

As the workers sift through the ashes and burnt metal, they do not realize that they are being watched.

Because in the warehouse directly adjacent to them, the little homunculus Cu'u currently flutters in front of the window, bags under her eyes and her overall demeanor full of grump.

"Uuuuugh, what's the big idea? Can't these meanies clam up for a moment so I can get a decent sleep?!" She dropped her shoulders and slowly fluttered back down to Stella, whose face looked as clean as a whistle from, SOMEHOW, sleeping through this whole noisy kerfuffle.

Cu'u brandished an envious glare her way and then propped herself back up.

Stella tilted her head, her hair still a little fresh out of the bed, "What's going on, Cu'u?"

"Ooooh, nothing…" Cu'u said while stiffly folding her arms, "Some jerk blew up the neighboring warehouse in the middle of the night and…COST ME A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP THANK YOU VERY MUCH!"

As the homunculus turned and swung her fist at her unknown problem causer, Stella gasped and remarked, "A-An explosion?! Oh no! Good thing teacher''s barrier protects us!"

"Yeah well next time mom comes around Imma gonna have to demand she add a soundproofing hex to it." Cu'u trotted over to the fridge with her shoulders in a slump and grabbed the milk gallon to guzzle down.

Stella, still fluttering her eyes with a dash of that youthful curiosity, cast a basic levitation spell on her feet so she could look out the window.

"Oh my golly goodness!" She raised her shrill voice, "What happened?"

"I just asked that!" Cu'u said while milk leaked from her mouth.

Stella floated back down and Cu'u finished off the milk gallon, holding it aloft for Stella to fill with a spell while she glanced off to the side, "If only there was a convenient way to look up what's going on around here…"

"You mean the internet?" Stella said so plainly that it hammered Cu'u's ego a bit.

"O-Of course…! I knew that…!" Cu'u said.

This time Stella didn't fall for it, yet chose to cushion the blow a little this time, "I'm surprised. Your mom's rich."

"Mmmmrrr…!" Cu'u puffed her cheeks and then gasped out, looking to vent a little frustration, "Yeah well when you got magic, you don't really need a whole lotta technology clogging up the house. I've never had a computer, a television, heck, even a phone!"

"Well that's not right!" Stella exclaimed, "Computers are great! You can download music-"

Cu'u's sharp ears perked up, "-videos-"

Cu'u sharply turned her head and nodded, "-and play games on it!"

Cu'u gasped and fluttered her wings feverishly, "AND we can find out why my sleep was disturbed!"

Stella began to say, "So we can make sure nobody was hu-"

Cu'u did a 180 to bitterness and punched her palm, "So I can give them a piece of my mind!"

She parted her hands and wagged her palm with a quiet "Ow…" while Stella blinked at her.

"Ok!" Cu'u whipped her pointer finger out at Stella with such force Stella ducked and grabbed the sides of her head.

Cu'u slacked her jaw and tilted her head, then shook it and remarked, "Our top priority today is to get a computer to liven up this dull living space!"

Stella rose with a smile, "That's a great idea! Then I can continue writing my story!"

Cu'u propped her fists on her hips and snickered, "And Iiiiii can slack off playing games while you're at school!"

Stella clapped her hands and giggled, "And we can have a movie night!"

"Yeah! That sounds like fun too!" Cu'u said excitedly.

Stella's expression then dropped like an anvil, "Wait, we don't have any money."

"Yeah! We don't have any mon-" Cu'u's expression did the same thing and brought the rest of her body hunching forward, "Whaddya mean we need money…?"

"Well, computers are expensive. They got a lot of different parts, like the motherboard, the CPU, the processor-"

"Are you a magician or a technician?!" Cu'u shouted with her head in a tizzy, "I don't understand! A computer sounds like a basic human need! What kinda capitalist scumbag would charge people for one?!"

Stella gently laid a finger on the side of her face, "Microsoft, AppleDell, IBM…"

"Ok we get it you know stuff," Cu'u said sardonically, "Uuuugh. Well whatever…a computer can't be THAT expensive…"

Stella then continued to not miss a beat, "It's 1000 dollars."

At this point Cu'u just let her eyelids droop on their own.

"For the cheapest one." Stella added salt to the wound.

"..." Cu'u pinched her nose and let out the deepest, tired sigh.

"Ok…you know what?" She rose with aplomb and shouted, "I ain't bending a knee to money-greedy consumerism! We got magic! We're gonna USE it!"

Stella's eyes lit up with awe, "You know how to make a computer out of magic?!"

Cu'u rubbed the bottom of her nose and smirked, "Oh pleeeeease, Stella. I'm the magnificent Cu'u, I can do MUCH BETTER than MAKE a computer…"

"We'll go to where the computers are, and I'll work my magic on them!"

"Sounds verily wonderful!" Stella proclaimed, then froze with her eyes wide open, "Oh, but we should probably wait for the police and firemen to leave."

Cu'u nodded, "Oh yeah, good point. I'm sure it won't take 'em very long."

2 hours later…

Cu'u is lying on the floor staring grumpily up at the ceiling while Stella practices twirling a little glitter star around with her magic.

Cu'u jolted up and shouted "ARE YOU KIDDING?!" which broke her concentration.

"It's all ashes out there, what's there to examine?!"

As Cu'u looked ready to march out and perform some police brutality, Stella stepped up with a soft and simple question, "Don't we have concealing magic?"

Cu'u froze with her leg up then pivoted towards Stella with an awkward look in her eyes, "O-O-Oh yeah, right. That…"

She shook her head and shouted, "Look! When you know SOOOOO many spells, you forget a few!"

She then snapped her fingers, "Ok, no more goofing off then! Let's go get a computer!"

"Oh wait, if we're going out in public, I shouldn't look like this." Stella said.

Cu'u groaned, "Oh brother, it'll be fiiiine, what are the odds we'll run into your family?"

Stella turned her head and dully blinked, "...You're questioning the odds…when your mom is a gambler…?"

Cu'u glared daggers at her, "Aren't you just full of sass today? Fine, fine, age yourself up, but if I hear you say 'verily' even once I'm kicking you in the butt."

After all their preparations were set, they left the warehouse without raising any attention and made their way into the city. Stella was free to drop the concealment magic after they got to somewhere with less eyes on them.

And that led Cu'u to ask, "Ok, real quick. Can you see me?"

Stella looked at her and nodded, "And I can hear you."

"...Huh." Cu'u said.

"Huh?" Stella echoed with confusion.

"...Never mind. Just focus!"

"Ah, of course! Now, I believe we can find some computers…there!" She pointed to a nearby Best Buy.

They went inside and the person at the front greeted Stella, "Are you lost?"

Stella shook her head, "Oh no no! I know where the computers are."

The person smiled, "Oh you're looking for a computer? Well we're holding a 10% off deal on any computer. All you need to do is sign up for our online membership, fill out the 20 question survey, enter the code we send to your phone, and then reply to the email."

Cu'u hung her shoulders and shouted, "All that for a measly 10% discount?! Stella, your planet's economy is bonkers."

Stella cracked an awkward smile and said, "Oh, that's fine! We're just browsing at the moment. Thank you verily much though for-"

Stella then felt a swift kick up her butt and went "Owie!", causing her to rub her butt and whimper, "My poor tushy…"

The front person looked a little weirded out, "Ah, must be a cosplaying thing…"

Stella then looked at Cu'u and whispered, "Would you believe me if I told you it used to be much worse?"

"HOW?!" Cu'u spat out.

They strolled on over to the electronics section after peeling Cu'u away from the flashy colorful lights of the televisions a few times.

And there they found a couple dozen different computer models lined up on the shelves.

Stella leaned in towards Cu'u and whispered, "So what am I going to do?"

"I know this is a big ask, but you're gonna have to carefully take out your wand, and tap the most expensive computer they got while casting the spell 'Copylapastela'. That'll make an exact copy of the computer, which will become concealed the moment I grab it!"

Stella blinked twice and questioned, "Isn't this technically…stealing?"

Cu'u raised her head in confidence, "Naaaaw! We're just creating a computer to call our own!"

Stella smiled like a ditz and declared, "Oh well that's fine then!"

"Now get to it!" Cu'u lashed her finger out and Stella started tip-toeing towards one of the computers.

"Ah, how about this one?"

Cu'u fluttered over and whispered, "This is cheaper than the ones next to it…"

"Yeah but this comes with a modem and router for internet access." Stella pointed out.

Cu'u asked in a haste, "Are those a part of the computer?"

"No? They're separate parts…"

"Then that's a no-go, the spell only works on one thing at a time."

"Isn't there a stronger spell we can use?" Stella wondered, "Otherwise we'll be making multiple trips back."

"There IS 'Copygapastega', but you're still too amateur hour to cast it." Cu'u said.

"Then maybe you should?"

For all her questioning, Stella was rewarded with Cu'u rubbing her face against hers and mumbling, "Just copy the darn computer and we'll worry about the rest after."

"A-Alright…" Stella trusted her judgment on the matter and after scanning to make sure nobody was watching she pulled out her wand and tapped the computer, "Copylapastela!"

A faint glow came off the wand and the moment it entered the computer she tucked her wand away and stood up looking totally inconspicuous.

Cu'u then reached out and grabbed the computer and pulled it off, making it a part of her concealment magic.

And there was still another computer there!

Stella gasped in awe, and Cu'u boasted, "See, toldja."

And then the two just waltzed out of the store like it was no big deal, and made their way back to the warehouse. The police and firemen were still at it.

"Seriously…?" Cu'u mumbled.

They got inside, dropped any spells they had on them, and then plopped the computer down on top of their table.

"Awesome! Days of slacking on games and movies, here we come!" Cu'u hovered her hands over the computer and after fiddling her fingers for a while slowly turned to Stella and mumbled, "...Uhhh, how do I operate this?"

Stella perked her eyes up and remarked, "Oh right! We need a keyboard, mouse, and a power outlet!"

Cu'u glared at her and Stella folded her arms in front of her waist with a blush on her face, "I-I'm sorry, whenever I become Selina, my mind just goes 'Whoopsie!' more often."

"MORE stuff?! Are we running a computer or putting together a puzzle?!" After groaning for a bit Cu'u flapped her arm down and remarked, "Bah, whatever! I'm too committed now! Let's head back!"

So they took a quick trip back to Best Buy, causing the front door person to say, "Welcome back! Did you sign up for our membership?"

Stella remarked, "Oh no no, we just forgot to get a part for our com-"

Cu'u kicked her in the butt again.

"EEP!" Stella then stumbled forward and waved the kind man off.

They then made it back to the computer section and Stella remarked, "We should get the power outlet first…Hmm?"

She stopped and looked at a few employees gathered near the computer they had copied. They were whispering, and it seemed like there were suddenly two computers on the shelf.

Cu'u grabbed her by the puff of her sleeve and dragged her along, "C'mon! I wanna use my new computer already!"

"B-But, Cu'u…" Stella just ended up going along with her anyways.

After finding a good portable power outlet that they could recharge with magic, they performed the same trick as before and made their way back to the warehouse.

While Stella's mind was a little more clear she commented, "Cu'u, I think something happened with the copy spell. I saw some employees around the computer, and-"

"Stella, you worry too much, it was a simple copy and paste job." Cu'u finished setting up the outlet with the computer and then brushed her hands clean like she'd been working hard all day.

"Now what's next?"

Stella turned her head back and tapped the bottom of her chin, "Ummm, the keyboard and mouse?"

"Move it or lose it, Stella!" Cu'u nudged her along out the door, after getting the spells back up and all.

Another trip to Best Buy, and the front door guy remarked, "Did you forget something else?"

"Y-Yeah, we did!" Stella said, a little guilt starting to form.

The guy said "That's why you bring a list" but it came off condescending.

Cu'u broke away and kicked the guy in the butt, "Ow!"

Then she dragged Stella towards the computer section.

Now Stella saw that there were six copies of that computer, and more employees gathered around questioning what was going on.

And a quick glance over to the power outlets saw that they were duplicating as well.

Stella squeezed her teeth together nervously and whispered, "Cu'u…! I REALLY think the spell got messed up!"

Cu'u spun around and leaned in, "I'm telling you, that's impossible!"

Stella puffed her cheeks and then grabbed the homunculus by the wrist and pulled her back to the computers, "Look!"

"GACKT!" Cu'u was suddenly singing a different tune as the employees continued to pull new copies of the computer out of the original.

She then grabbed Stella by the shoulders and shook her, "What'd you do?!"

Stella stared at her and looked flabbergasted, "M-Me?! I cast the spell as you told me to! Shouldn't there be a spell to shut it off?"

"Uhhhh…" Cu'u stared at her until the cuckoo clock in her head clucked like it was broken, "I-I don't know…?"

Stella was determined to see this fixed, "Let's get back to the warehouse and check the spell book!"

So they ran back yet again, shoved the computer onto the couch, and then slammed the spell book down causing it to open halfway.

They then started flipping through pages until reaching the index, "Copylapastela…copylapastela…There! Page 574!"

Cu'u turned to that page and slapped her fingers down on the section, "There! Hurry!"

Stella leaned in and let out a quick "Eek!" upon noticing, "There's no chant to turn it off!"

"What?! No way! Every spell has a kill switch! Gimme that!" Cu'u pushed her aside and leaned in to give it a good scan, "Aaaaugh! There is none! Then why's the spell even in here?!"

Stella started chuckling nervously, "W-Well…on the bright side…this'll probably bring the price of computers down a lot."

"AND expose magic to the world! That's like the one thing mom sternly told us NOT to do!" Cu'u screamed.

"Oh…" Stella said stoically.

Cu'u than slammed the spell book shut and hovered her finger over the big glistening jewel in the center, "That's it, I'm calling mom to fix this!"

"W-Wait, no! This is probably my fault in the first place, let me fix this!" Stella insisted.

Cu'u glared at her and Stella pleaded, "Please!"

"..." Cu'u pressed down on the jewel while stating bluntly, "I told you, you're not good enough yet."

Stella bit her teeth and sheepishly backed away from the book, clutching her wand against her chest in desperation.

The spell book unfurled and exploded into a dramatic flurry of stage lights and harmlessly sparklers. A golden statue rose like a pop-up in a picture book and once the spotlights centered on it the gold was shed like a chrysalis opening up.

And out twirled a lady in a fancy gray-green suit and lime green undershirt, with a horseshoe belt, dice earrings, and long, emerald green drill shaped curly hair. Her skin was a purple-pink shade.

It was Stella's teacher, Cu'u's mother, the fantastic and amazingly confident gambler queen Neptune!

After ending her grand entrance on a flourish of flower petals from her hand, she pulled out her pool stick wand from the book and twirled it behind her back, stepping off the book directly between her daughter and student.

"What's the emergency?" She said all calm and suave.

Cu'u shouted, "W-We were trying to copy a computer to bring home with us, but Stella screwed up the spell now it's duplicating lots of them in the store! And there's no way to shut it off!"

"Aha," Neptune declared with a fancy gesture of her hand towards her daughter, "Copylapastela. I remember that one…"

She then gently glanced at both her wards and remarked, "Did you wait for it to finish pasting?"

Cu'u's jaw slacked, "Uhhhh…"

Neptune wagged her finger at her with a playful, knowing smile, then turned to Stella, reaching out and easing the wand out from the clutches of her chest.

She then turned and with a quick flick of her wand, she effortlessly extended the width of the couch so she could lay on it.

She then propped a fist against her cheek and remarked, "A lesson to remember for the future. Anything that's already been created by human hands, like technology, is made up of clumps of complex magicules."

"Just as you need to wait for a computer to copy and paste files, when you copy and paste more complex constructs, it takes a while. Moving the object prematurely creates a flux in the magicules that will cause the object to keep replicating until the origin point is returned."

"In other words…" She tapped the computer with her pool stick, "You stole this, no?"

Cu'u bit her lower lip and hung her head in silence.

With a smile, Neptune sat upright and laid her stick across her hand, "And furthermore, my sweet little Bella, 'Copylapastela' is a more advanced spell. Which means the only reason Stella would've thought to use it would be if someone told her."

"W-Well how else am I supposed to get a computer?! You left me with no money!" Cu'u said in frustration.

"Figuring that out is part of growing up," Neptune said, both gentle and stern, "Part of growing up is also taking responsibility when you make a mistake. That means, were you an adult, you would be charged with a felony. So I think you should want to be a kid just for now, no?"

Neptune leaned her head in, awaiting an answer, only for Cu'u to puff her cheeks and turn away.

Neptune then stood and approached Stella, "Stella, you know that what you did is wrong, no?"

Stella's eyes shook as she hung her head and whispered, "I-I wanted to do more fun things with Cu'u…"

Silence broke over the warehouse, and Cu'u turned to face Stella with a look of surprise.

Neptune glanced over her shoulder, then back at Stella, taking a moment to playfully ruffle her hair, "You are such a sweetheart, with your eyes blissfully seeking satisfaction."

She then rose and put her wand to her hand, "I will fix the magicules in flux, and wipe the memories of those who witnessed this event. And I will also overlook this little game of thievery on ONE condition…"

"W-What's that?" Stella wondered.

"That you return to writing your story with every ounce of passion you can command!" She proclaimed dramatically, only to immediately drop back into her soft and playful tone, "I have missed catching your weekly updates, 'Selina Perlwhite'."

With a wink from her teacher, Stella's heart melted into goo. She was. TOO. COOL.

Neptune then spun back around and reached out for her daughter's shoulder, "And Cu'u…I know you can do better."

Cu'u bluntly brushed her hand off and folded her arms under her chest, "...Say hi to mom for me."

"Hmm…" Neptune then brandished her hand into the sky, "And now…! I am off! Ta-ta!" She disappeared in an overwhelmingly bright but brief flash of lilac light.

But she left behind everything the two would need to enjoy their computer, including a desk and chair.

Stella's eyes were still alight with awe, "Your mom's so cool…"

"S-Shut up…!" Cu'u growled through her teeth.

Stella turned to her and tilted her head, "Hey, Cu'u…?"

"What?!" Cu'u lunged her head out, looking like she was crying.

Stella flinched, and then with a friendly smile pointed at their new computer and asked, "Do you want to watch a movie?"

"I-I…" Cu'u hung her shoulders and sighed, "Suuuuure…"

Before that though, they needed to finish setting up, including putting the spell book away under the, tragically, unwidened couch.

Stella patted the book and looked at her wand, mumbling aloud, "I still have a long way to go…I have to stop making mistakes."

She then lifted her head and looked at Cu'u fumbling with the wires, "Cu'u, I'm sorry for screwing up today. And then your mom got upset at you…"

Cu'u staggered back and mumbled, "H-Huh? Oh yeah, no skin off my back…Really."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really."

"Really, really?"

Cu'u turned sharply and groaned, "Are we gonna watch a movie or not? Help me out here! These wires are tangling!"

"O-Ok!" Stella scurried over and the two eventually worked things out together. Overall, a happy ending for this little adventure…

….

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13 years ago, a girl was born.

An ordinary, ordinary, plainly average girl.

Average hair. Average height. Average grades. Everything about her was simply, hopelessly…average.

And what is wrong with being average? Why, when you come from an extraordinary family, your averageness becomes boring.

A dad who can control all the elements, and an esteemed and benevolent doctor.

A mother who is a goddess, both literally, and figuratively. From looks, to smarts, to kindness, she was a cut above the rest.

A big sister who could tune any machine to her standards, a genius without comparison.

Another big sister who endured anguish with great determination, and a body as strong as diamond.

Even her little brother, the envy of her eyes, was blessed with a staggering imagination, and as the youngest…stole any last chance she had of being anything special in her parent's eyes.

The girl timidly accepted her inadequacies, and lifted a simple, uneventful life. She made a few friends here and there, but her plainness made it hard to keep them.

But then she met the most spectacular, magnificent, marvelous woman.

She was hired to perform a show on her birthday, and dazzled the girl's mind with a flurry of magical lights cast with naught but the flick of her wrist.

The woman had a flare. She had moxie. She was cute, and her confidence appealing.

The girl ambushed the woman as she was set to depart, and wondered if she could be more like her.

With a dash of intrigue and a pinch of her smile, the woman gladly accepted the little girl under her wing.

Gifting her a magic wand and a beginner's spellbook, the woman's teachings had to come from afar, but the girl listened intently to every lesson.

And in a matter of months, she was able to cast basic spells to the awe of her siblings, and the delight of her parents.

Finally! Finally! She had something to call her own. And all the adoration that came with it.

It gave her confidence, and she smiled more. She became more studious when it came to magic, and her imagination began to explore the realm of writing.

She had everything she could ever want, but dare she crave more?

On the final week before her big sister's graduation from college, the girl wanted to astound her with how far she had come, and eagerly explored some more advanced spells to cast the greatest celebration of them all!

But eagerness bred hesitation.

And "KABOOM!"

She had caused grave damage to her home.

It scared her. Scarred her. She felt that this was it. She had one chance to be something special in her family's eyes, and she failed.

She ran, ran, and ran some more, until eventually hiding herself away in a quaint little warehouse, far from home.

And when her poor little legs were too tired, her eyes picked up the pace, crying until she was tired and dry.

And then her teacher appeared from thin air, having tracked her down with the greatest of ease at her parents' request.

The teacher wished to express how much her parents were worried about her, but the girl never let her have the chance.

She laid out her normal, quite understandable fears, and begged her teacher not to take her back to a place she felt she didn't belong.

The teacher wasn't heartless.

But she wasn't foolish either.

The girl's request was heeded, but with a catch.

She would be watched over by a homunculus, the teacher's mischievous little daughter.

And as long as the girl continued to work hard, and not give up her passion for what she loved, she would not have to return home.

"Because her teacher believed the children could face their fears together, and the girl's parents…" A book closed, and Neptune closed her eyes and smiled smoothly, "Believe in her too…"

She then leaned her head back over her shoulder at Lunis, who was busy closing up the library for the night.

Pausing with a smile, Lunis sprinkled her with praise, "You really should be a storyteller, Neptune!"

Neptune vanished the book with magic, "Alas, for as thrilling as my life is, my story is yet to be over."

Lunis finished putting away the last returned book and after clapping her hands, approached the gambler with a question, "So? How are they doing?"

"Oh, my darling daughter got them into a little trouble today. But Stella impressed me a lot by standing up for her."

Lunis laid a hand over her chest and breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good…!"

Neptune leaned off the counter and remarked, "Even I am still surprised that you and Riku agreed to this arrangement."

Lunis gently scratched the side of her face, "I guess you can say this is my atonement for failing her in the first place…"

"I should have known she was burdened by comparing herself to the rest of us. Or maybe…me and Riku didn't want to confront that feeling again ourselves."

"Hmm…" Neptune hummed.

Lunis shook her head, "There's no excusing what we did. Now…we think it's probably better if she has some space from us for a bit. It'll let her figure out how special she really, REALLY is."

Neptune wagged her finger, "You should probably tell the rest of your kids soon though. From what I hear, Stella is currently using age-up magic to go to the same high school your oldest is teaching at."

"Hmmm, that IS a complicated problem…If I tell any of them, they'll be out the door, first step, trying to get her back. But if I DON'T tell them, and they figure it out on their own…"

Neptune summoned a card between her fingers and expertly flipped it around, "It sounds like a gamble with no real victor."

Lunis wondered, "So you think I should leave it alone?"

"Coddle our kids too much, and they'll never grow up, and personally…" Neptune smiled and stopped her card with a rare black star on the white side, "I have a vested interest in seeing where my star pupil soars to next."

Lunis smiled too and nodded, "Thank you again for doing all this, Neptune. I know you're a busy woman and-"

"Ah ah, my life is mine to command, I simply followed my heart, and the thrill of the moment!"

"..." Lunis then closed her eyes and whispered, "I know Stella will return to us one day. Until then, I won't forget every night I cannot kiss her to sleep. I won't forget every day I cannot wake her up. I won't forget every story I can't tell her. I won't forget every star I can't see with her. That will be punishment enough for what I've done…"

Neptune poked her pool stick against her cheek to make her smile, "Do what you must, Lunis. But do not let self-doubt blemish a perfect smile. Of all the mothers I've seen, you're definitely in the top percentile."

She then twirled her stick out of view and threw her card into the air, "Hopefully the next time we meet, it'll be with our daughters at our sides."

The card enlarged and dropped in front of her through the ground. By the time it was gone, so too was she.

Lunis then walked past the counter and glided her hand over it, looking up into the ceiling at the starry night poking through the clouds.

In the warehouse not too far away, Stella and Cu'u were sleeping in front of the computer, with a movie watching them off gently.

"Good night Stella…my little shooting star."

Next Time: Ashes of the Rising Sun